Model S Reservation Tally

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Welcome aboard, Evin.

That might be "EV in Fairfax" :smile: In any case, welcome!

 

[evinfairfax]

That might be "EV in Fairfax" :smile: In any case, welcome!

That's correct. And thanks. I am the fellow way at the back of this queue now.

 

[brianman]

That might be "EV in Fairfax" :smile: In any case, welcome!

I'll just call him/her "P6709" instead.

 

[Doug_G]

No U.S. updates in two weeks. Curious.

Maybe Tesla got a little behind in sending out the reservation numbers. It's highly unlikely that sales could fluctuate that much.

 

[brianman]

Maybe Tesla got a little behind in sending out the reservation numbers. It's highly unlikely that sales could fluctuate that much.

Or the website issue that MitchL was referring to.

 

[Citizen-T]

I think there are fewer and fewer "enthusiasts" reserving at this stage of the game. They are the people that are seeing the car at the stores and putting down reservations. "normal" buyers if you will. Less likely to pour over every inch of the website and find the one forum thread where we track reservations. They might find us eventually, but, their wait isn't so long. Just a different type of customer.

My theory anyway.

 

[evinfairfax]

I'm one of the "normals" I guess. I started reading about Tesla after seeing the Model S drivetrain in the shop window after walking out of the restaurant next door. Total coincidence. I had seen a couple of roadsters in SV, but didn't even know they had a sedan planned until I saw the drivetrain which was clearly too big to be a roadster!

I called them up a week later, and to be honest I hung up after they told me it would be 15-16 months if no delays. For me a "normal" buyer like me, that's a little ridiculous. So there is that effect. I thought about just getting something else and then coming back to Tesla next time. As it is, I'll be 8 months out of warranty on my daily driver if/when my number comes up. That isn't good.

Of course, I called him back and gave him 5k just in case I decide to stretch it out to Apr 2013. I don't know how many "normals" would do that. What if it wasn't just warranty I was worried about? What if my current car was a lease?

 

[Citizen-T]

Yeah, I guess "normal" isn't quite right; but relatively speaking...you are. Some of us have been waiting for this car for years and bought it based on pictures of an early prototype and some stats derived from simulations.

My point is just that you guys probably aren't as starved for information or as crazy about this stuff as those of us who frequent these forums. Thus, I think it will take your group longer to find this thread than the group of reservers before you.

 

[evinfairfax]

Yeah, I guess "normal" isn't quite right; but relatively speaking...you are. Some of us have been waiting for this car for years and bought it based on pictures of an early prototype and some stats derived from simulations.

Yep, I actually think "normal" is the right word. I'm a person who needs to buy a car this year because my other car is nearing the end of its useful life. I think that's how most people make purchases. I had planned to put in an order at Mercedes/BMW/Audi in Feb/Mar for Jul/Aug delivery like I do every 5 years. This whole "put your order in and wait 15-16 months" doesn't fit the normal car buying pattern.

My point is just that you guys probably aren't as starved for information or as crazy about this stuff as those of us who frequent these forums. Thus, I think it will take your group longer to find this thread than the group of reservers before you.

Yep, probably true. But I also wouldn't be surprised if orders are slowing down a bit also. Like I said, at 15 months out and number 9 thousand whatever in the queue I was barely interested, just enough to put a deposit just in case. If it had been 6 months out, I would have been much more motivated and interested/excited about this vehicle and I would have signed up for this forum that very night!

 

[brianman]

P6709, I think he meant "normal" as a compliment in this case -- as in not "abnormal", "OCD", "fanatic", etc.

 

[neroden]

Yeah, I guess "normal" isn't quite right; but relatively speaking...you are. Some of us have been waiting for this car for years and bought it based on pictures of an early prototype and some stats derived from simulations.

And/or have been researching electric car technology for years. And/or have been doing background research on the Tesla corporation. Yeah, some of us are pretty far from normal.

My point is just that you guys probably aren't as starved for information or as crazy about this stuff as those of us who frequent these forums. Thus, I think it will take your group longer to find this thread than the group of reservers before you.

Indeed. We have gotten two numbers from the same day which mean there were *at least* six reservations in one day. So the reservation rate is still pretty high. I think we're seeing more reservations from people who are less likely to go hang out on forums about their future car -- chatting on forums about a car is, to be honest, unusual behavior!\

 

[AnOutsider]

Yep, I actually think "normal" is the right word. I'm a person who needs to buy a car this year because my other car is nearing the end of its useful life. I think that's how most people make purchases. I had planned to put in an order at Mercedes/BMW/Audi in Feb/Mar for Jul/Aug delivery like I do every 5 years. This whole "put your order in and wait 15-16 months" doesn't fit the normal car buying pattern.

Yep, probably true. But I also wouldn't be surprised if orders are slowing down a bit also. Like I said, at 15 months out and number 9 thousand whatever in the queue I was barely interested, just enough to put a deposit just in case. If it had been 6 months out, I would have been much more motivated and interested/excited about this vehicle and I would have signed up for this forum that very night!

Have you considered hopping on the signature wait list? Depending on how you planned to configure the car it may make sense for you, plus you'd be getting it this summer sometime. Even if you don't go signature, you may get it by the end of the year if you go 300mile and jump the line enough.

 

[PattyChuck]

Have you considered hopping on the signature wait list?

When I signed up for my reservation a few weeks ago (thankfully I'm now six spots from the "back of the queue" :wink, the website indicated that reservations for the Signature Series were all sold out. It also says, "We will open a Signature Series wait list to all reservation holders by the end of January." I read this to mean that if you hold a current reservation for a non-sig, you can sign up to get on a list for the Sig in the event that people drop their reservation after production starts, but it doesn't guarantee you a Sig.

Am I looking at this correctly? What happens to your non-sig reservation if you get on the wait list?

 

[AnOutsider]

When I signed up for my reservation a few weeks ago (thankfully I'm now six spots from the "back of the queue" :wink, the website indicated that reservations for the Signature Series were all sold out. It also says, "We will open a Signature Series wait list to all reservation holders by the end of January." I read this to mean that if you hold a current reservation for a non-sig, you can sign up to get on a list for the Sig in the event that people drop their reservation after production starts, but it doesn't guarantee you a Sig.

Am I looking at this correctly? What happens to your non-sig reservation if you get on the wait list?

That hasn't been worked out yet (as you said, Tesla intends to do that by the end of the month). I was just pointing out to fairfax that it could potentially be much less than 15 months

 

[Mycroft]

What happens to your non-sig reservation if you get on the wait list?

It only makes sense that your non-Sig reservation stays the same unless and until you upgrade to Sig. You'll be on the wait-list, and if you're lucky, then enough people will drop out that you will be offered the opportunity to spend $35,000 more for a Sig upgrade and your non-Sig number will disappear.

 

[ckessel]

I guess 15 months doesn't seem that exorbitant to me. When I'm planning out my next car purchase, I start well over a year early to find out what I want, what the costs are going to be, then start adjusting my budget. I need that lead time to get the budget in order. Granted, I'm an extremely detailed kind of person on these sorts of things, so I'm probably not "normal".

 

[Mycroft]

Until last year, my wife and I just waited until a car died and then we started scouring the classifieds.

 

[ElSupreme]

I am always constantly ‘shopping’ for a car, even when I have no intention of purchasing one. In fact I have only purchased cars when my previous car is dead. This is the main reason I have not put down a deposit yet. That and I really want to see some deliveries first, even though I have stock. The Model S may be the new car to break that cycle.

I had a Dodge Neon, which wasn’t my choice at all but being in HS and not making any real money it was all I could get. My parents would not help me insure the 280Z I wanted. My brother killed it when I was in college. Diesel Jetta was the first care where I had proper funding. When it was killed by a Maxima I wanted a Diesel Golf, but ended up getting a GTI (Sport Gasoline Golf) because there were no Diesel ones in the state. And I couldn’t stand driving the rental Chevy Cobalt any longer.

But throughout the years my list has greatly varied. There has been only 1 constant through all of it a Porsche 911. This is by no means all inclusive, and doesn’t include cars well beyond my means (Except the big truck phase which I put down).

My lifelong wish list:
--High School--

Nissan/Datsun 280/260/240Z (Used as my first car, that I could afford)
Volvo 850 Turbo (friend had one)
Dodge Neon ARC (After I had my Neon for a while)
Dodge Neon RT
Honda Civic SI

--College-- (I owned no cars in college, and 6 months afterwards)

Subaru Impreza WRX
Subaru Impreza STI (I knew a dick in college that had one, stopped my desire for one)
Jeep Wrangler
Honda Insight
Audi A4 (on and off with Avant , due to MT availability)
Audi A3 (the A4 was big)
VW Tourage V10 Diesel
Humvee (Hummer H1, V8 Diesel)
Audi A3

--Post College Summer Vacation--

Toyota Prius (AT was pretty much a show stopper, and it was crazy slow)
Audi A3 (Stupid Audi Dealer stopped this desire)
MK5 Diesel Golf/GTI (No US version, so not a possibility)
VW Jetta Diesel *PURCHASED*(Was mine for not long enough)
VW Jetta Wagon (not available when mine was bought)
Jeep Wrangler (this desire was ended the second …

--Maxima Rear ends me at 70mph while I am stopped--

VW Jetta Diesel (purchase price too high due to fuel prices, not worth ~28k, only 1 in state)
VW Golf Diesel (purchase price too high, none in state)
VW GTI
Subaru Impreza STI (my dad bought an Outback)
Audi A4 Avant (stopped offering MT, so I stopped wanting)
BMW 328i Sport Wagon (mom bought BMW, I was not that impressed with value)
VW Jetta SportWagen Diesel
Ford Focus ST
VW (GTI) R20
VW Jetta SportWagen Diesel
Tesla Model S (really stretching the car budget)
Nissan Leaf(affordable and available, found out I drive too much for this to really work, about 10 days)
Tesla Model S (slightly stretching the car budget, due to nice raise)

 

[Malasada]

1. 6,886 (1/26/12)
2. Northern Cal
3. P

Thanks for all the info! Was wavering between leasing/buying a performance hybrid now and waiting 3-4 years to get an EV, then visited the store yesterday and decided to put down a deposit after getting very good responses to several of my questions from the store manager in San Jose plus many of your collective posts that I have been reading over the last month.

 

[Mycroft]

Welcome Malasada!